The Cincinnati Reds dropped their series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1, earning a series split. The Reds now sit at 21-29 on the season and remain in last place in the NL Central, 6.5 games back from the first-place Milwaukee Brewers.
Game 1
The Reds were able to overcome a short start by Brandon Williamson to win 6-5 in extra innings. Buck Farmer, Lucas Sims, Alexis Diaz and Ian Gibaut registered 5 1/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen after Williamson and Alex Young gave up five runs combined in just 4 2/3 innings.
The 1-2-3 combination on Jonathan India, Matt McLain and Spencer Steer did most of the heavy lifting on offense as they each recorded the only three extra-base hits of the game for the Reds.
The Cardinals came into the series opener winners in 11 of their last 14 games, so grabbing the opener was huge in a pivotal division series.
Game 2
Graham Ashcraft had another disappointing start, giving up seven runs on 10 hits in just five innings of work. Familiar foe Adam Wainwright gave up five runs for the Cardinals, but the Reds were unable to overcome Ashcraft’s struggles and dropped the game 8-5.
In Ashcraft’s first six starts of the 2023 season, he did not give up more than two runs once. In his four starts since, he has given up a combined 25 runs in just 17 1/3 innings. Getting him back to his early season form will be key to the Reds climbing out of the basement of the NL Central.
The bullpen pitched well for the second consecutive day as Silvino Bracho and Alan Busenitz threw four innings of one-run baseball. Bracho has since been designated for assignment to make room for fellow reliever Eduardo Salazar.
Offensively, it was a similar story to the prior game in the series. Matt McLain drove in three runs including a home run to right field (aided by Cardinals RF Oscar Mercado). The Reds registered nine hits, but could not muster enough to chase down the hot-swinging Cardinals.
Game 3
Wednesday’s game swung back into the Cincinnati Reds’ favor as they were the ones swinging hot bats to the tune of a 10-3 blowout victory. The Reds jumped all over Cardinals starter Steven Matz, who gave up six runs in just four innings. The Cardinals bullpen had similar struggles. Both of the relievers they trotted out gave up two runs each in their four combined innings.
Cincinnati got a masterful start from Ben Lively who is beginning to establish himself as a legitimate option at the back-end of the starting rotation. Lively’s last two starts have been against two solid offenses in the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals. He has shut both down, giving up two runs in both outings and pitching well into the ballgame.
The Cincinnati offense smacked a season-high 18 hits on their way to 10 runs. Seven Reds recorded multiple hits in the game and only Jose Barrero failed to get on base.
Game 4
The offensive nature of the first three games came to a screeching halt in the series finale. The teams combined for 13 hits and the Reds dropped the game 2-1 in a classic pitcher’s duel.
For the second consecutive day, the Reds got a phenomenal start from an unlikely source. Luke Weaver tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings, allowing just four baserunners and striking out six Cardinals. In two of Weaver’s last three starts, he has thrown at least five innings and given up one or fewer runs.
Reliever Lucas Sims gave up two runs in his 1 2/3 innings of work. Outside of the series in Colorado, Sims had not given up a run all season until Thursday.
Offensively, the story was a familiar one for the 2023 Cincinnati Reds: Power. With just one extra-base hit in the game, the Reds mustered only one run. St. Louis pitcher Miles Mikolas had given up at least three runs in six of his 10 starts this season, and had given up zero runs only once until Thursday. Mikolas threw seven shutout innings at Great American Ballpark.
Next up…
The Reds begin a roadtrip on Friday as they will travel to Chicago to take on the Cubs in a three-game series. A three-game set in Boston will immediately follow that as the Reds try to finish the month of May strong. The Reds are 9-13 in May. Winning each of the next two series will be important if they are trying to hold serve in the division until the young guns in AAA get the call to The Show.
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Featured image courtesy of Reds.com
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